Single Drunk Female, airing on Freeform and staring Sasha Compère, is only in its first season, but the show is collecting fans like it’s been on for years. A big part of Single Drunk Female’s instant success is that the show’s format is like old school television, with weekly episodes. The quality of the show itself is the other big factor. Fans love it so much that it is quickly creating a cult like following. The season 1 finale is today (Thursday), and it is unsure if it’ll be picked up for another season yet.
Sasha’s character, Brit is witty, charming and the most responsible of their friend group. She’s currently engaged to Sam’s (a newly sober alcoholic and Brit’s ex-bestie) ex-boyfriend. Brit still stands by her (crappy) friend, Sam, while keeping healthy boundaries. Watch it on Freeform today. You won’t regret it.
It was easy to see why Sasha was chosen for this part. She could easily be anyone’s bestie, even off-screen. Funny, opinionated and articulate, Sasha Compère is a vital part of the success of Single Drunk Female. We sat down with the star to learn more about her favorite travel spots, solo travel, and more.
“I remember Travel Noire did a feature on Haiti, and my sister and I were so excited,” she gushed during the interview! “We love, love Travel Noire!”
Travel Noire: Production, Acting, writing AND… directing? You’ve directed before, correct?
Sasha Compère: Yes, some. After college, I found this hodgepodge group of people who let me write and produce. My first was a day in the life of myself, going to an audition and being asked to be more “urban.” I had that happen once in an old audition in NYC, and the only way I knew how to release that feeling was through film.
I am currently writing and producing a film on mental health. We don’t talk much about mental health, being a black woman and being Haitian, it isn’t open. I have a piece coming out later this year, currently untitled.
TN: What is your favorite part of creating?
SC: Acting and production are at the top. Writing is a gift that only some have. I don’t have that gift. I journal a lot and a lot of my script writing comes from these essays. Like seeing someone at an airport that I hadn’t seen in forever.
With acting, I love sharing and inhabiting other people’s stories and bringing that to life, but I also love seeing stories. Like friends that want to do something different than what you’ve done before. It’s new for me to now have more of a budget behind production.
I hope to one day have my own production company. I DREAM OF THAT!
TN: How much do you identify with your character, Brit, from Single Drunk Female?
SC: Half and half. (Laughs.) I am a first generation Haitian American, just like Brit. But, have I ever taken my friend’s ex-boyfriend? No!
I had to look at it again. And then again. She’s just looking at the finish line, like I need to get a boyfriend. I need to get married. And they have all been friends for over 20 years. That is kind of her way to keep her unit together, if she marries him she’ll always be tied to Samantha, her best friend since childhood.
Those long term relationships are the ones you really want to keep. I haven’t been in her exact situation, but I do really relate.
TN: Favorite movie?
SC: Tbh, I go back to Eve’s Bayou. It’s an older one. Cassie Lemons directed it. Samuel L. Jackson. New Orleans. Creole District. When I was younger, I just grabbed onto it.
Now? Um, that’s a tough one. More recently, King Richard! I loved, I loved it! Oh, and Tick, Tick Boom!
TN: How has acting enabled you to travel, or vice versa?
SC: I travel a lot through acting. I have traveled solo too! I went solo to Vietnam in 2016. It was a random choice. I would go to dinner, the ballet, and movies all by myself. I pointed to the map randomly and found Vietnam. I love Vietnamese food. I saw Bourdain go to The Lunch Lady and I said, you know what, I’m going to do it.
When I went, I didn’t know I was supposed to get a visa. So I was waiting in the airport in Vietnam for hours!
I had a layover in Japan, so I had their currency on me. The people are amazing, and it’s beautiful there, but they definitely tried to charge me way too much for my visa. I called the embassy and suddenly the price changed. Always contact the embassy when you are going to a new country.
Still in Vietnam, I pointed at the map again and took a sleeper bus 8 hours north. Ended up at a random hotel where no one spoke English. I booked a tour and no one showed up except me and the tour guide.
We went on his motorcycle and talked about how happy he was. When you grow up knowing nothing else, you are happy with whatever you have. My parents used to say something like this. There are people who are just like us; who are happy with whatever they have.
TN: Any advice for new solo travelers?
SC: Always research where you’re going, take protection. Gotta be safe! It’s just lovely to immerse yourself into a culture and not just the touristy stuff. I love learning where people live and how they live. It reminds me we are all together.
TN: Is it true you model as well?
SC: (Laughs.) No, no! But I did have a friend who worked at Goorin Brothers and I did do a shoot for them. And, as a kid, I did go to a John Robert Powers interview. It was a one-day thing, though. I wish, I wish!
TN: What’s on your 2022 Travel Bucket List?
SC: I hit a couple of them last year after we wrapped Single Drunk Female. I went to London, Italy and the south of France. I want to go to Thailand, Philippines and I want to go back to Haiti. My parents and sister have been back, but I’ve been busy working, so I missed it.
TN: Who’s the person you share your successes/wins with?
My mom!! I know it might be lame, but my mom, dad and sis. My mom and I are so similar, we have deep emotions, and we celebrate our wins the most. I didn’t tell my parents I was moving to LA to be an actor. When I told them, years later, they were shocked and scared and all the things I was trying to avoid when I didn’t tell them the truth.
I did plenty of jobs and theater when I was in NYC. They were very apprehensive that their daughter wasn’t going to find her place in life.
I was doing a role and my mom said if you can do this you can win a Grammy. I said, you mean an Emmy! All that she knew was that I could win a gold statue.
Acting is such a tough industry. You go through so many losses throughout the years. When my vision lines up with someone else’s, I love it. And, yes! I share those wins with my mom the most.
